Matthew 9:9-10 "And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples."
This is the first time we seek who Matthew was. Jesus did not accidently leave from healing the man with the palsy and wander by where Mattew was collecting taxes for Cesar. This office put Matthew in very unpopular company because tax collectors were regarded as dishonest. They gathered more than was required and put the excess in their own pocket.
We might
think that this was a poor choice on Jesus’s part. However, when I stop and
think that He also chose me to follow Him, Matthew does not seem nearly as
questionable a choice. Matthew was certainly no more a sinner than you and I.
Jesus called Him from a very public place where others could see the
interaction.
There was no great fanfare when Jesus called Matthew. Like He did with Peter and Andrew, Jesus simply said to Matthew, “Follow me.” And like with Peter and Andrew, Matthew got up and walked away from the life He was living. There is still power today in that small, still voice that speaks in the hearts of men and says, “Follow me.”
Although Peter and Andrew were fishermen, and therefore not high in the social order, they were considered respectable. Matthew was anything but respectable. The calling of Jesus in our lives makes changes in us that are life-altering. Among other things, we learn that Jesus calls and loves publicans (tax collectors) and sinners.
Seeing Jesus call to Matthew gave others who were downtrodden and shunned the courage to come and sit at meat with Him. It also taught His disciples (and His enemies) that Jesus was not a respecter of persons. It gives us hope to believe that the calling in our lives is just as real as Matthew’s calling was in His. We come to eat meat with Jesus and His disciples (among whom we find ourselves numbered).
Dear ones, never suppose that your life is so worthless that Jesus cannot call you. Never let the baggage that you carry keep you from following Him. Do not be afraid of what others may think or what they know about your life before Jesus called you to follow Him. To use an old phrase, Jesus does not call the qualified, He qualifies those that He calls.